


Unlikely

by mangagal



Series: Lady Bloodfight [2]
Category: Lady Bloodfight, Lady Bloodfight (2016)
Genre: F/F, First Love, Found Family, Pining, Rare Fandoms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 09:35:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12603636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mangagal/pseuds/mangagal
Summary: The world is full of unlikely things for Ling and she doesn't know what to do about it.





	Unlikely

**Author's Note:**

> I'm honestly surprised that anyone read the first story. Thank you for the love it got lovelies! I'll try to write more for them in the future but we'll see how that goes.

            Ling wasn’t sure what she wanted to do about these feelings. It had been easy enough when she had been ignorant of their true meaning. It had been easy to teach the children the proper way to throw a punch, the way they would occasionally brush up against one another when walking through the rows to correct a stance here and there. It had been easy enough to remain ignorant as to why her heart fluttered when their legs pressed together at a meal or when Jane would pull her hair back in a bun or even from just a small smile shared between the two as they passed each other in the halls. It had been easy when she hadn’t known and they shared a small bedroom. It had been easy when she hadn’t known why she liked glancing over to see the other girl sleeping curled up in a ball or the way her soft hair stood up at odd angles first thing in the morning.

            Now, everything was infinitely more difficult for Ling. All of the little things that Jane did set her on edge, she didn’t know what to do with herself. She kept her expression smooth on the outside but within her heart was hammering at a frantic pace. Sometimes she thought Jane could hear the frenzied rhythm beating against her ribs but the older girl never reacted so Ling’s secret was safe so far from the object of her affection, attraction, whatever.

            Master Wai undoubtedly knew, she was sharp and quick. Ling had no confidence in ever keeping a secret from her teacher; she always seemed to be at least two steps ahead. Ling waited on pins and needles for her teacher to say something about it, to do something, but the days passed by and nothing came of it. Ling reluctantly stopped waiting for the other shoe to drop; if Master Wai was going to do something about it she would have already done so. Ling wasn’t sure if she was relieved about this or not. On one hand she didn’t want to get in trouble for it, she didn’t know what sort of rules were kept in the temple beyond not eating protein bars and keeping the courtyards clean. On the other hand she wished that she could talk to her teacher about this. She was the closest thing to family that Ling had ever had and she needed some advice but she wasn’t brave enough to come right out and say something. She just wasn’t ready yet.

            Ling didn’t think that Master Shu knew. The older woman always seemed to have her head in the clouds, almost like she was looking beyond this world. They had only had one extremely uncomfortable conversation. Ling had woken early, unused to the silence of the country, and had wandered into the kitchen finding Master Shu already awake. She’d been forced to sit there with a slowly cooling cup of tea and halting conversation between the two of them that had ended with Shu urging her to look after her health. Ling did her best to avoid the other woman after that. Master Shu wasn’t a bad person. She cared about Ling in her own way, which was precisely why Ling avoided her. Ling wasn’t use to people caring about her. She could handle the gruff advice from Master Wai and the natural warmth of Jane but the halting way that Master Shu tried to care just rubbed Ling the wrong way. She reminded Ling of the nuns from the orphanage of her childhood, they genuinely cared but the brisk authoritative way they showed it caused Ling to bristle. She wouldn’t be controlled by anyone but herself. Master Shu wasn’t all that bad, maybe Ling could even get use to it in time but for now she kept her distance as best as she could.

            Ling wasn’t sure what to do besides hide her feelings. Jane had never shown any interest after all. Jane probably had a boyfriend back home, she was so pretty it was impossible that she was single and didn’t have someone waiting for her in the states. However, Ling had never seen Jane send any letters besides the occasional note addressed to her mom. Jane didn’t have a phone and Ling never saw her use the pay phone down in the village so she definitely wasn’t calling her lover. It was enough to make Ling hope if she let herself get carried away but Ling always made sure to reign in those thoughts before they could take over. Even if Jane was single (unlikely) there was almost a nonexistent chance that she liked girls. And even if she did like girls (unlikely) there was no saying that she was attracted to Ling. It was even more unlikely that she loved Ling the way that Ling thought she probably loved the other girl. Ling knew she wouldn’t be able to stand it if she was rejected by her first love. They worked together and ate together and spent nearly every moment side by side, it would make life here impossible if she acted on her feelings and was turned down, there would be no escaping the hurt if she stayed.

            Ling had thought about just picking up and leaving the small coastal town, it was what she usually did when she was faced with any situation that she knew she couldn’t win. But as unlikely as it was she had grown to love the salty air that blew in off the ocean and the open courtyards and she’d even come to love the quiet of the country even though she still longed for the buzz of the city. She had come to love the way the children would gather around and beg to be taught just one more move, she’d come to look forward to the stray cups of tea that Master Shu would leave for her at breakfast. She loved that she had a place to call home. Someday she might leave this place (unlikely) but for now she would stay put.


End file.
